Legal Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Affected by Covid-19

Covid-19 has interrupted the fulfillment of Indonesian migrant workers’ rights, while the State has promulgated Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation and revised Law Number 18/2017 concerning Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. This research aims to find out how protection and law reinforcement are given to Indonesian migrant workers by the state during the pandemic according to Law Number 18/2017 in conjunction with Law Number 11/2020. This research employed a normative method and a statutory approach. The research results have revealed that according to Law Number 18/2017, the protection given to the migrants only took repatriation, and another form of protection is still deemed to be not optimal since it did not take the engagement of roles of the companies sending Indonesian migrants. Moreover, pursuant to Law Number 11/2020, there is no reinforcement implied since the changes taking place are likely to ease administrative measures, contrary to the fact that strict permits could reduce the likelihood of illegal and non-procedural placement of migrant workers. This issue affects the fulfillment of the rights of Indonesian migrant workers, especially during the pandemic. Thus, it is essential that the state reinforce the protection given to Indonesian migrant workers during the pandemic by reinforcing legal protection every company providing labor placement service has to take into account and by imposing administrative measures as sanctions or sentencing in case of failing to abide by regulations. Moreover, permit issuance to the companies running labor placement services for Indonesian migrants has to be made stricter to ensure that only credible companies pass the requirement of migrant placement services, allowing the status of the rights of Indonesian migrant workers to be properly met amidst the pandemic.